264 FREAKS OF PLANT LIFE. 



them close should a storm obscure the welkin with 

 dark clouds. The daisy " goes to bed," as it is said, 

 before the sun goes down, but the bright yellow wort 

 {Chlora perfoliata) closes its flowers before five in the 

 afternoon, and the yellow goat's beard {Tragopogoii 

 p}'atc7isis), so common now in upland meadows, even 

 before noon — hence its colloquial name " Go-to-bed- 

 at-noon." The little pimpernel (Aiiagallis arvensis) 

 sullenly keeps its scarlet petals closely shut on a 

 cloudy or a rainy day, and this so constantly and 

 certainly, that it has been called the " Shepherd's 

 weather-glass," for Avhatever the barometer may 

 indicate, if the red pimpernel has its flowers ex- 

 panded fully in the morning, there will, to a 

 certainty, be no rain of any consequence on that 

 day, and the umbrella and the macintosh may be dis- 

 pensed with. 



Come, tell me, thou coy little flower, 



Converging thy petals again, 

 "Who gave thee the magical power 



Of shutting thy cup on the rain, 

 While many a beautiful bow'r 



Is drenched in nectareous dew, 

 Seal'd up is your scarlet-tinged flower. 



And the rain peals in vain upon you ? 



The cowslip and primrose can sip 

 The pure mountain dew as it flows, 



But you, ere it touches your lip, 



Coyly raise your red petals and close ; 



